Award-winning students, athletic excellence and exciting events are among the highlights of President Ortiz's weekly video update.

The president thanked the hundreds of students, faculty and staff who made the Pumpkin Festival, Insect Fair and Matt's Run possible. The events, which took place the weekend of Oct. 19-20, drew more than 60,000 people to campus and helped raise funds for campus programs and scholarships. They also highlighted the university during the open application period for Fall 2014, which lasts through Nov. 30.

Student success also was noted:

• Four electrical engineering and computer science students won the Best Algorithm Award by building a mobile app in just 24 hours during the hack-MIT competition, beating competitors from 300 teams, including Yale, Stanford, Princeton and UC Berkeley.
• Teaching credential student Eva Ambriz was selected to receive the CSU Trustees' Award for Outstanding Achievement. The awards recognize superior academic performance, personal accomplishments, community service and financial need. Ambriz overcame difficult circumstances in her youth and volunteers at the Pomona Day Labor Center and the Prison Education Project.
• The men's cross country team finished second and the women's team finished third at the CCAA Championships this past weekend.

A number of noteworthy events are coming up:

• The College of Education & Integrative Studies will explore the future of K-12 education during a Tuesday afternoon workshop for educational leaders at Bronco Student Center.
• The Clothesline Project will be on display this week on campus. Created by survivors of assault, rape and incest, it features several hundred T-shirts aired like dirty laundry.
• Grammy-nominated musician and domestic violence survivor Radmilla Cody will speak Wednesday at the Native Scholar lecture.
• The volleyball team will host Cal State Monterey Bay on Thursday night.
• The soccer teams will honor their 2013 seniors on Sunday with a special pre-game ceremony.
• Daymond John, founder of Fubu clothing, will speak Nov. 6 as part of the College Business Administration's leadership forum.
• Virginia Grebbien, president of Parsons Environment & Infrastructure, will speak Nov. 7 as part of the Engineering Distinguished Lecture Series.

To read the entire video message, download a PDF of the transcript.